That's So Complete
by Dr. Magic PhD
Summary: Season 2 Finale of the "Complete" Series: Matthew and Wesley are finally graduating from the small campus, and there's a big family reunion! Secrets are teased and chaos ensues in every direction. Meanwhile, there's a warlock running around "collecting" specific powers for selfish reasons. How will the brothers handle this before graduation? It's my first ever crossover!
1. That's So Last Minute

_**QUICK NOTE:** And here we go again! I have been writing and writing, then erasing and erasing, and back and forth for weeks with this story...I got to the point where I just couldn't think of a thing to carry this story forward, and decided to just start uploading it in hopes that it would light a fire under my behind to create some inspiration! Please read and review in your leisure, and let me know what you think so far. And, as always, send any ideas you might have my way!_

* * *

"Thank goodness it's all over soon!" Wesley exclaimed with somewhat of a sigh of relief to James as the two of them zoomed down Interstate Highway 20 in James' truck.

"The year went by pretty quickly, didn't it?" James asked.

"Are you kidding?" Wesley responded. "This has been one of the _slowest_ years ever! With all of the boring general ed classes, the stupid work study jobs, not to mention the endless attacks on my life…"

"Well the important thing is that graduation is in a couple days," James said, bringing Wesley back to the main topic. "Now we'll all be back on the same campus again. That'll certainly make things easier on us, don't you think?"

"Oh sure," Wesley agreed, rolling his eyes. "Now we can all get attacked at the same time, like we used to do. Those were the good ol' days…"

"Sarcasm," James replied dryly.

"You're getting so good at picking up on it," Wesley answered as he reached over and playfully ruffled his brother's hair. "Good job, Jimmy."

Wesley wanted to get some new clothes for the graduation ceremony that was taking place at Oxford College in two days. His own car had been destroyed by the last demon he and his brothers had encountered, Selrach. Since then, the insurance claims and paperwork had been taking what seemed like forever to get processed, resulting in him not having a car yet. James offered to drive him to the mall so that he could get some shopping done.

"So your family's gonna be in town tomorrow?" James asked. "Excited to see them?"

"Meh," Wesley sighed. "Everybody is making such a big deal out of this, when really it isn't. I mean, we're only getting Associate degrees; it's not like we don't still have two more years of school left. But my mama makes a big deal out of everything. Her _baby_ is graduating from Oxford. That's what she tells people. As far as I know, she's probably telling them she's headed to England now for my graduation. Aside from that, people are crying left and right. My mama's first child, my grandmother's first grandchild, the oldest this, the first that. Just because I'm the first one in my generation to get a degree, people are going crazy."

"They're just proud of you," James said. "You've come a long way, little brother. You're definitely not the same brat who showed up two years ago. I think college has done you well. Well, actually I think your _brothers_ have done you well."

"Don't take credit for my accomplishments," Wesley answered, rolling his eyes. "And don't mix the supernatural with the normal. And _don't_ put Matt's name in this. We were having such a pleasant conversation until just now."

"You can't still be upset," James insisted. "It's been weeks now. He's apologized and you've kicked his ass, which I still can't believe you did by the way, and he's apologized again and y'all have talked to each other about it. Can't you just move on? I mean, he _is_ your brother."

"Get off your high horse, buddy," Wesley told James. "I know everything you just said; I was there when it happened, remember? Forgive, I do plenty. I never forget. You should know that."

"I'm just saying," James insisted as he seamlessly weaved through a few cars, causing a bit of uneasiness in Wesley. He knew that Wesley did not particularly care to ride with either James or Matthew because of their tendencies to drive somewhat recklessly. Without a vehicle of his own, at least for the time being, Wesley was forced to put his hesitations to the side and accept the conscious decision to get in a car with them. The only thing that made him the slightest bit secure was the fact that at least now he could glimmer out if he really needed to avoid a heart attack.

"Listen," Wesley said to James. "I get it, I really do. I know what he did, I can't say that I totally understand why, even after he tried to explain it to me. I can only accept it, but my heart is not very open about it right now. Maybe later down the line things will get better, but even that won't change the fact that he basically betrayed me. I mean, come on…I've never done _anything_ close to what he did."

"But it…"

"And before you start," Wesley quickly interrupted James, almost reading his mind, "I know that he isn't the only guilty party. Stephanie wasn't under any spells at all, so she made the decision herself to date Matt. They're equally guilty. I just don't get it, any of it. I didn't get it then, and I don't get it now. Maybe it's not for me to get at all. But all I can do is process how I feel right now."

"Right," James hesitantly responded in a drawn out tone. "You should focus on the progress that you've made so far, though. You're definitely in a better place now, right? So keep that in mind, especially now. You're about to graduate from Oxford, little brother, and your family's gonna be in town. His family's gonna be here too, so don't you think y'all should at least be civil enough to get through that? When it's all over we can work on what to do next. I'm just trying to keep the peace long enough to make it through everything."

"Feels weird, doesn't it?" Wesley asked with a faint grin and a tone of curiosity. "Since this whole thing happened it's like you and Matt have switched sides. You're stuck in the middle, and he and I can't seem to get along."

"I can't say it's the best feeling for me," James answered. "I'd rather be taking shots at you if I had a choice. Things were better that way. That's why I'm trying to get things back to normal as quickly as possible. This sucks!"

"Well…it is what it is," Wesley sighed, grabbing a tight hold of the passenger side armrest. "Meanwhile can you please slow down? The mall is not closing anytime soon, and I want to get there and back in one piece before my family comes to town."

"I'm just trying to make sure we're back before they get here," James said as he took one hand off the steering wheel to glance at his watch. It was just after noon. "We've got a few hours, so calm down. Good thing you have a huge family; otherwise they might've wanted to stay at the house."

"I don't think so," Wesley said, snickering nervously as James swerved two lanes over in the course of two seconds. "After everything Wyatt went through, staying at the house would be the _last_ thing they'd want to do, although I'm sure _he_ wouldn't mind. But with the entire family driving down, I was quick to give them a list of nearby hotels!"

"And it was good of Matt to help arrange it so that both of your families had time to get together with mine," James added. "I guess since we're all…you know… _connected_ …it makes sense that they should at least get to know each other."

"Well that's _one_ good thing he's done right," Wesley mumbled. "You know the exit is coming up, right?"

"I know," James said, abruptly turning on his blinker. "Hold on…I need to pass this eighteen wheeler first."

"This is it," Wesley announced, gripping the armrest with one hand and his seatbelt with the other. "This is how I'm gonna die…"


	2. That's So No Turning Back

Matthew paced nervously back and forth in the living room, not sure that he was doing the right thing. He knew that this would either be a very bad thing or a very VERY bad thing. There really was not a silver lining on this storm cloud. The only positive was that both his brothers were out of the house, and his family was not scheduled to arrive in town until much later, leaving him to have the house to himself. If either of his brothers, especially Wesley, were there with him, everything would be infinitely worse on him.

Over the weeks following their victory over the demon Selrach, the dynamic between him, Wesley, and James had changed drastically. Everything had finally come out in the open. The big secret about him dating two women simultaneously – one of them being Wesley's ex-girlfriend Stephanie – had finally been revealed. The overwhelming news nearly drove Wesley insane with anger; he actually fought Matthew. The more surprising fact was that Matthew _allowed_ it to happen. Being a boxer, his pride and his fighting instinct had never prompted him to take a punch without any sort of retaliation. He felt that Wesley at least deserved that from him, but not too much.

James, on the other hand, usually the one who always considered himself in charge of any situation as the headstrong oldest sibling, had suddenly been thrust into the role of mediator, and often communicator. There was a period of time where Wesley refused to say anything to Matthew, and would only convey his feelings through James. Although James felt it was inherently childish of Wesley, he nevertheless participated in the charade, making a wise choice to not incite Wesley any further. As the time passed, Wesley and Matthew eventually transitioned to a place where they could coexist in the same room, and even exchange small talk. It made Matthew uncomfortable to feel that he needed to walk on eggshells around Wesley, per James' advice he gave his younger brother the space he needed until he was ready to talk to him. Uncharacteristically, he would have rather plunged in headfirst and confronted Wesley so they could quickly resolve their issues, but through constant counsel from James he consented to let Wesley control the pace at which they rebuilt their relationship.

Almost two weeks went by before the two of them finally sat down to talk. With their busy schedules and trying to study for their final exams, time had not been their greatest ally lately. Their classes made it so that they would have to be out of the house at different times as they sat for various exams. Studying made it that much more complicated; they found that as one would come home from the library, the other was headed _to_ the library and vice versa. If that were not enough, Matthew still, contrary to James' urging, continued seeing both Ariana and Stephanie. While he kept quiet about it around the house, his brothers knew what he was doing. Just knowing that after the lies had come out in the open Matthew still wanted to see both girls was what pushed Wesley to talk to him one day.

It was an uncomfortable conversation. James sat in the middle, at both his brothers' requests. They both felt that James could prevent any potential fights. The talk lasted for hours, with Wesley letting it all out. He chastised Matthew for breaking "the code" by choosing to date Stephanie behind his back. Even if Wesley had given permission, which would have been a long shot, Matthew should have known better than to do it. On top of that, Wesley argued, Matthew was wrong to date two women at the same time. James, of course, felt differently, but kept silent. Furthermore, Wesley claimed, to feel that he had to lie about dating Stephanie was bad enough, but to involve _magic_ in his cover up was extreme. Wesley had told him that if he felt that he needed to use magic at all, that should have been yet another red flag to signal to him that he was on the wrong path. With the consequences associated with using magic for personal gain, Wesley insisted that Matthew _had_ to know that things would end badly.

Matthew acknowledged everything that Wesley explained to him, and was quite surprised that Wesley had been able to present his case in such a calm manner. He had expected Wesley to fly off the handle, with him being so emotional and unpredictable. He was fully prepared for another fight with Wesley. Rather, he was fully prepared to defend himself from Wesley. At first, all he could do was apologize for everything he had done, not only to Wesley but to James by inadvertently bringing him into the middle of the whole fiasco. The more Wesley spoke, the more inclined he became to try and make Wesley understand his own perspective.

Everything was not as black and white as Wesley was making it, Matthew stated to him. Matthew conveyed that he was caught in an extremely gray area regarding his feelings. He admitted to Wesley that he had begun his attraction to Stephanie while she was still dating Wesley, but never acted on it. In addition, after meeting Ariana he developed feelings for her as well, but was more inclined to pursue a relationship with her since she was single. There was a stretch of time where he had put Stephanie out of his mind, but through chance encounters – passing each other on the Quad or seeing each other in the cafeteria – it was not very long before she was back on his mind. After all, this was Oxford College, a very small campus where it was almost impossible to not see everyone. With just over six hundred students, freshmen and sophomores, in attendance, everyone pretty much knew everyone in some sort of capacity. Matthew could not just walk around the campus and purposely avoid her, he argued.

Both he and Wesley presented their points of view to each other, while James sat and tried his best to keep up with the seemingly endless debate. Sometimes James agreed with Wesley; other times he agreed with Matthew. It became increasingly difficult to side with either brother since they both brought up reasonable points. In the end, James guided them both to move towards a sensible conclusion, one that involved compromise and a commitment from them both to move forward without looking back. Surprisingly, neither Matthew nor Wesley felt that they would be able to do that. Everything had to be put out in the open to address, and both were set on doing just that.

The events of that long night replayed and replayed in Matthew's mind as he continued ambling back and forth in the living room. Was this really the best thing for him? He was having second thoughts about everything. Though he had come this far, there was still the option to turn back. Yes, that was a good idea. He walked over to an end table and picked up the cordless phone when the doorbell rang. The piercing DING-DONG snapped him back to reality as he took in a deep breath, replacing the phone on the base. There was no turning back now. He silently mouthed a quick prayer as he slowly opened the door.


	3. That's So Teen Movie

Wesley jumped out of James' truck as soon as it came to a complete stop in the parking lot. He was so happy to be back on solid ground he had an inkling to kiss the ground. James had been his personal driver for weeks now, yet Wesley still could not get used to his erratic driving. He preferred to be behind the steering wheel; he rarely trusted others to drive him places. Only because he was out of a car did he allow himself to accept James' offer to be his chauffeur.

"You're being overly dramatic," James chided Wesley. "We got here in one piece. I have a perfect driving record, you know."

"Except for those six speeding tickets," Wesley reminded him.

"But did you die?" James asked, mimicking Wesley's tone. Wesley replied by rolling his eyes and walking towards the entrance to the mall. "I didn't think so."

"Whatever," Wesley said, not bothering to turn around. "Come on, I just want to get in and get out; I hate going to the mall on a weekend. There are too many people to fool with, and nobody understands the concept of personal space."

"No arguments from this corner," James answered. He was glad they shared similar opinions on shopping.

"I just need a couple of shirts from Old Navy and H&M," Wesley said out loud to no one in particular. "Maybe a pair of shoes…"

The two of them walked intently into the shopping mall. Looking at the mall directory, they planned on the best course of action. They would go into H&M first to find a nice shirt or two, then head to Old Navy to pick up another shirt. If he felt up to it, Wesley wanted to quickly browse for a new pair of shoes. It was his graduation, after all. After everything he had been through over the past month, he deserved to do something nice for himself. Lately he had been in a state of auto-pilot, just going through the motions of life. Since finally sitting and having "the talk" with Matthew, he was slowly starting to return back to his normal self.

As they moved away from the mall directory, James accidentally bumped into a woman, causing her to drop her purse and her shopping bags. Wesley looked on with a hint of amusement as he watched James clumsily try to help this woman. James quickly fumbled an apology and dropped to the ground to try and get her things. She met him halfway and their hands brushed against each other while trying to shove clothes back into a bag.

"I'm so sorry," James said sheepishly.

"It's okay," the woman answered. "I wasn't watching where I was walking. I was trying to do too much at the same time anyway. I'm such a klutz."

"No," James insisted. "I'm the clumsy one. Let me get this for you."

For the first time, the two raised their heads to see each other clearly. James saw a very attractive woman, about 5'7" with long and flowing slightly wavy golden hair, tied back into a ponytail that extended down her back and a pair of large, deep blue eyes to match. She wore a simple white tank top with a blue jean skirt that stopped just short of her knees. Rounding out her outfit was a pristine pair of white sneakers. His nose caught a whiff of her fragrance. He could not place it, but it almost seemed familiar to him, as if he had smelled it before.

She nearly blushed as she took in James appearance. His khaki shorts and tight blue t-shirt caught her attention instantly, as did his icy blue eyes and buzz cut blond hair. Their smiles complemented each other as they momentarily paused. Wesley had to force himself not to vomit as he watched this cliché moment unfold. The more they tried to work together to clean everything up, the more jumbled things seemed to become. As James reached for one item, the woman would reach for another, inadvertently undoing what James tried to do in the first place. This carried on for an unusually long and awkward amount of time before Wesley finally decided to step in.

"Okay," he announced. "I'm gonna leave y'all to finish your teen movie moment. Jimmy, call me if you get lost."

"Wes…"

"Okay…later bro," Wesley cut James off as he abruptly walked away, half amused and half annoyed. James just looked back at the woman and flashed his white teeth at her, trying to hide his embarrassment.

"That's my…" he began slowly, not quite knowing how to finish the statement. Most people would do a double take upon hearing that Wesley was James' or Matthew's brother anyway, and while it was definitely a conversation starter, James did not sense that this was the best time to go into detail about something so odd. "Well…never mind about him; he's gone now."

"It's okay," she replied, chuckling softly. "I think we got it all together finally. I'm Sam, by the way. Well, short for Samantha, but my friends call me Sam."

"Then I'll call you Sam," James said with more confidence as he smiled warmly at her and extended his hand. "James, or Jimmy's what my friends call me."

"Then I'll call you Jimmy," Samantha responded, returning James' smile with one of her own and reaching out to shake his hand.

"I hope you don't take this the wrong way," James said, still smiling, "I think you're very pretty."

"Me?" Samantha asked shyly, looking down slightly. "No, I'm a mess. But I'm starting to think you bumped into me on purpose…"

"Haha," James placed a hand on his head as he laughed awkwardly. "Of course not. But you know there's a reason for everything…"


	4. That's So Betraying

"Why?" a terrified and desperate woman shouted out to her assailant. "I thought you loved me!"

"You have something that I want," a man replied to her in a very dark, but matter-of-fact voice. "And I will take what I want."

"But I don't know what you're talking about!" she pleaded with tears streaming down her face and dripping onto her gray blouse, staining it.

Robin Acker sat helplessly in a chair in her own home, her hands and feet bound tightly by thick ropes so that she could not escape. She had been dating Daniel Lyles for just under a year now, and their relationship had been nothing short of a dream for her. They met at a beach in Miami; she was sunbathing and he was surfing. As he returned to the shore, he happened to catch a glimpse of her, lying alone, and decided to strike up a conversation. They exchanged pleasantries, small talk, and gradually moved to more interesting topics. He told her about his job as a delivery driver for a shipping company, while she mentioned that she was a makeup artist. The two of them discussed the highs and lows of their respective jobs, and shared a significant amount of laughter.

The afternoon at the beach went along so pleasantly that they decided to extend their encounter to dinner and drinks. They got to know more about each other and made the mutual decision to begin casually dating, which eventually led to a more serious relationship. Daniel found that he was infatuated and intrigued with Robin, constantly wanting to know more about her background, her family life, her interests. Robin dismissed it as just wanting to get to know her, and never really thought anything more about it; she was simply thrilled that she had come across a man who seemed to show a genuine interest in her. To that effect, she volunteered as much information about herself as he could take in, and in return he entrusted her with some of his innermost secrets…except one.

The one thing that Daniel kept carefully hidden from Robin was that although he was interested in her, it was not because of the reasons that Robin would have thought. Daniel had done a lot of research on Robin and discovered that she possessed a coveted, yet nascent power that he needed to move forward in his own plans. With her not even knowing about this mysterious ability, Daniel knew that he had to proceed cautiously and help her to slowly develop it so that he could take it. After all, he was a warlock; his primary goal was to kill witches and steal their powers.

"Haven't you ever wondered why you're always so knowledgeable about so many things?" Daniel asked, tiptoeing around Robin and savoring the feelings of terror that Robin exuded. He took them in, inhaling deeply as if her fear was an overpowering scent of which he could not get enough. It almost seemed intoxicating to him. "You never thought it was weird that I was so interested in that?"

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Robin repeated adamantly, shaking her head vigorously. "You're making a big mistake! Please…you're scaring me!"

"Robin, my dear Robin," Daniel explained, stopping to look into her brown eyes, "I have to tell you something that I was hoping you'd figure out on your own, but oh well. You see, you're…for lack of a better word…a _witch_."

"A what!?" she exclaimed in disbelief. "There's no such thing as witches, Daniel! What is this all about?"

"Think about it," Daniel told her. "All those feelings of déjà vu that you have all the time. You've talked about weird dreams you've had that somehow came true. Sometimes you feel like you know what's going to happen before it does. Sweetheart, that's not a coincidence; that's your _power_."

"My _power_?" she repeated, her eyes displaying a combination of disbelief and shock. "I don't have any _powers_. I'm just plain old Robin Acker from Miami, Florida. I do people's make up. I'm a regular person."

"But you're far from regular," Daniel contradicted. "You are, in fact, a witch. You just don't _know_ you're a witch, and you haven't developed your powers fully…at least not yet. That's what brings us here. I'm getting tired of waiting for you to figure this all out, so I'm going to speed things up a bit."

"You're going to _WHAT_?" Robin asked. She was still resistant to everything Daniel was telling her. None of this made any sense. Witches and magical powers were so far out of her realm of possibility that she did not know what to make of this situation. As far as she knew, Daniel was messing with her for some reason, teasing her.

She suspected something was strange when he first offered to tie her up in his seductive voice, suggesting that they try some new erotic activities. She was hesitant at first, but he persisted and convinced her to try it. In the back of her mind, she could almost feel that something was wrong with the whole idea. He had never brought anything like this up in the time they had known each other, and as far as she knew, neither of them had any complaints about their private lives. At the moment he blindfolded her, she thought she saw images… _flashes_ …of what was happening to her. She could swear she saw him wrapping ropes around her hands and her feet, securing her to a chair. It was as if she was outside of her own body, _watching_ herself be bound and blindfolded. She dismissed it as nervous anticipation of what Daniel insisted would be an unforgettable night.

"Your power," Daniel clarified for Robin, "is what I've been waiting for you to develop. In order for me to grow stronger, I need more power. You have the power that will help me to get to where I must be, well you along with a few other people. I've mapped this out for a very long time. You see where I'm going with this, right?"

"I…" Robin started to say, but she was speechless. No matter what Daniel said to her, it all seemed like a bunch of nonsense to her. All she felt was confusion and fear.

Without warning, Daniel roughly placed both his hands on either side of Robin's head, frightening her even more and causing her to scream. He ignored her and closed his eyes, concentrating on what he needed to do. After several moments, a small orange light began to emanate from his hands, penetrating into Robin's head and instantly silencing her. She inhaled sharply as her eyes shut and more images began to flood her mind. Memories of past events in her life replayed themselves and she was there, watching them as if they played on a television screen. This was exactly like when she thought she saw herself being bound by Daniel. She was once again outside of her body and witnessing herself leave her parents' house to go to the prom with Miles Carmichael. She saw herself walking across the stage at her graduation from high school. She saw herself shaking a man's hand as he handed her the keys to her first car. Her most memorable moments were clearer than ever, and as she saw them, she could almost feel them. For the second time, she relived the joy, the exhilaration, the anxiousness, the happiness, all of the emotions associated with each memory. Suddenly, the images stopped and she was back in her room, tied to a chair.

"Wh…what did you just do to me?" she asked in a low voice. She felt exhausted from having experienced such a vast amount of memories in such a short amount of time. "I…I saw my…my graduation. My…prom. My…"

"I used one of the powers I've acquired to awaken your own," Daniel said, removing his hands from Robin's head. "I can't take your power if it isn't already awakened inside you. It's not really the way I imagined this would go, but hopefully it worked enough for you to understand more."

"Understand," Robin repeated, in more of a monotone voice. As she settled down, the possibility that what Daniel said to her slowly turned into reality. Things were making more sense now. Witches and magic _were_ real, and she knew that because she had a magical power; she could see visions of the past, present, and future. "Wait a minute. If I'm a witch…what does that make you?"

"I think you should know that by now," Daniel said to her, in a more sinister tone as he gently caressed her face with his hand.

Robin immediately shuddered as her world went dark again and images flooded her mind's eye. Daniel's touch had triggered her power of premonition. _Cars are routinely driving across the San Francisco Bridge. A young teenage girl is in a clothing store. Her pink cell phone drops from her purse. A handsome young man picks it up and hands it to her. She reaches out and grabs the phone, but stops as her eyes widen. She seems to space out for a moment. There is a flash. Now three young men are standing in front of the young girl and two other teenagers. The three young men throw something at Daniel. Daniel throws his hands up in defense._ She calmed herself and tried to hide the fact that she had just had a vision of some sort.

"A warlock," she spat in disdain. "You've just been using me to get my power. What about the past year? Doesn't that mean anything to you?"

"It used to mean everything to me," Daniel answered. "Unfortunately, I gave that up a long time ago…when my true love was killed. But with your help, she and I will be together again soon."

Reaching into the side of his pants, he produced an elaborately designed dagger with ornate markings on it. Both the handle and the blade were the same bright silver color; curved engravings ran from the hilt to the tip seamlessly. The engraved etchings seemed to spell something out, but they looked more like hieroglyphs than actual letters. The only distinguishing feature that separated the blade from the hilt was the fact that the hilt was grooved, allowing it to be easily held, while the blade was flat and razor sharp.

He twirled it playfully around his fingers as he once again circled Robin, who could only follow him with her eyes. Her power of premonition no longer latent, her mind wrestled with trying to balance what she had just found out with what she was currently going through. While she wanted to remain as calm as possible, her vision confused her. It had nothing to do with her and how she might be able to get out of this situation. The only part of the vision she could connect with was the part concerning Daniel. But who were the others? What were they throwing? Why did he throw his hands up? So many questions rushed through her mind, none of which she could come up with an answer.

"If you already have powers of your own," she asked "why take mine? What good is my power to you?"

"More than you think," Daniel said as he teasingly slid the blade of the dagger across Robin's chest, relishing the idea of torturing her. "You have no idea how powerful your magic is. So much so, in fact, that it had to be split…"


	5. That's So Awkward

Stephanie and Ariana walked into the house; Ariana roughly shoved Matthew aside as she walked past him. They both made their way to the large living room couch and sat silently with their arms folded and scowls on their faces. Matthew second guessed his decision to invite them both over at the same time. He should have spoken to them one on one, which was his first idea, but he wanted to get this over with as quickly as he could.

The living room was just off the hallway upon entering the house. There was a large brown couch, enough for four people to comfortably sit, that faced an oversized television which sat about ten feet away. A glass coffee table served as a midway point between the two, with a smaller two person brown loveseat against the wall to the left, and a tan recliner to the right of the couch. Altogether the living room formed a sort of nook where the brothers could sit, relax, and watch television. The wall against which the loveseat was situated separated the living room from the kitchen.

While the two young women occupied the couch, Matthew took a seat on the recliner. A short time passed between the three of them, which seemed like an eternity to Matthew. The more Stephanie and Ariana sat in silence, the more unnerved Matthew became. They did not want to initiate any type of conversation with Matthew; they knew how uncomfortable that made Matthew and they wanted to seize any opportunity to do so.

At first, neither Stephanie nor Ariana knew why he had called them. They both arrived at his home at the same time, not even knowing who the other was. They had a bit of small talk at the door, which eventually led to them revealing who they were and their relation to Matthew. They had never seen each other since Ariana did not attend Oxford. She was a student at nearby Troy State University. It was purely coincidental that both women met Matthew at a speed dating event months ago. They both ended up meeting him and engaging in several conversations, which led to him not being able to figure out which one he wanted to date. Stephanie should have obviously been off limits, but the circumstances were beyond logic and reasoning now.

"Thanks for coming," Matthew finally said, breaking the silence. Neither Stephanie nor Ariana answered him. "Can I get either of you something to drink?"

Again, neither of the women answered him. Small beads of sweat began to form around his forehead as he quickly tried to figure out his next move. This was one of the most awkward situations he had ever experienced, and it was not going very well at all. He was in for a long night. Wiping his forehead, he sat at the edge of the recliner, momentarily looking each woman up and down and trying to figure out what was on their minds. With all the magic he possessed, he was powerless and at the mercy of these two women.

"Tough crowd," he muttered to himself. He decided to dive right in and address the elephant in the room. "Okay, well we all know why I invited you both, so I'll start by apologizing. It was never my intention for any of this to happen.

"Ariana, when I met you, I saw so many things between us that we had in common. We both liked the same things. We came from similar families. We're even from the same state. The conversations we had that first night were spectacular. I could've talked to you all night.

"But then I ran into you, Stephanie. I never _ever_ expected the two of us to hit it off. Besides the…well, the obvious…the more we talked the more interested I became in you. You have such a fascinating outlook on life that it just hooked me in like a fish. I couldn't stop thinking about you. I tried, but being at Oxford it was hard to ignore you all the time."

"Okay," Ariana said, interrupting Matthew's speech. "I don't think either of us came here for you to butter us up. We haven't had a lot of time to talk to each other, but it's a safe guess that we're not feeling too good about you right about now. You lied to us, Matt!"

"I thought you were one of the good ones," Stephanie added. "You were the one with the common sense and good judgment. And then to find out that you would do something like this? I don't know what to think about you anymore!"

"I know, I know," Matthew admitted. "If it makes any difference, I really haven't been…myself…lately. I've been dealing with a lot of personal issues and…"

"Save it," Ariana said, cutting him off mid-sentence. "You're not the only one with personal issues. It's called life; get over it."

"And I thought this would be easy," Matthew said to himself.

"Do you know how stupid I feel?" Stephanie asked. "All those times you called me with an excuse about why you couldn't make a date or had to suddenly leave…you were messing around with _her_! I mean, what is it about me that isn't enough for you? Obviously I'm missing something that you're looking for, otherwise you wouldn't have to see another woman behind my back!"

"And what is it about _me_ that you don't like enough to see me exclusively?" Ariana continued. "What is it about _her_ that makes you want to lie to me? Is she prettier than me? Smarter? More interesting?"

"No!" Matthew responded emphatically, shaking his head. "It's not like that at all!"

"Oh!" Stephanie interjected. "So I'm not pretty enough for you? Or smart enough? Or interesting enough?"

"No!" Matthew cried once again. "You're both taking this out of proportion! Let's just all calm down here!"

The mood was getting more and more tense. In what seemed like a split second, the conversation had gone from nonexistent to out of control. Both Stephanie and Ariana were yelling at Matthew in tandem, barely giving him any time to defend himself. It was ironic, the night began with neither woman saying anything; now he could hardly get a word in edgewise. Moreover, the more he talked, the more he seemed to incriminate himself. It was as if nothing he could ever say was good enough to satisfy either woman. He wished the night would hurry up and end, but he had an inkling that it was only just beginning.


	6. That's So Scary

"Chels," Raven cried out in a high-pitched voice, jumping up and down in ecstasy, "if I don't get a new outfit for my date tonight I'll _die_! Do you want that to happen? Do you want your girl to go out like _that_?"

"Alright, alright, Ray," Chelsea caved in. "But you owe me for this. I'm canceling my plans for you."

"What other plans did you have?" Raven asked skeptically.

"You know!" Chelsea said intently as she played with her hair. "I figured since it's the end of the year, I was going to get my karma realigned! You know how out of whack I've been lately."

"Hmm," Raven said as she looked at the ceiling, feigning surprise, "I never noticed."

"That's because she's always out of whack," Eddie nonchalantly added, walking into Raven's room.

Eddie Thomas, Chelsea Daniels, and Raven Baxter had been best friends for as long as any of them could remember. They all went to the same elementary school, and were currently preparing to graduate from the same junior high school in San Francisco, Bayside Middle School, in just a few short days. They normally spent the better part of their days together, and had formed a bond that was as close as any bond could be.

Aside from their tightly knit friendship, another thing that seemed to keep them so close was the secret that they shared, or rather the secret that Raven entrusted to her two best friends. Besides Raven's own family, Eddie and Chelsea were the only two other people in the world who knew about her "gift." Ever since she was a child, Raven had been able to see short glimpses of the future. She was a psychic. Her visions usually involved events in her and her friends' lives. They were randomly triggered, and often led her into ironic and comical situations.

Now she was preparing for a date with her latest crush, Andre. Every week she obsessed over a new boy at school. The week before it was Michael, before that was Darryl, before that was Chris, and it went on and on. At this age, Raven was completely weak to the opposite sex; she found herself infatuated with anything and everything related to boys. She attended sporting events just to get closer to her crushes. She often put herself into ridiculous situations in order to get glimpses of boys. By this point, she had lost count of the number of times her need to have boyfriends clouded her better judgment and landed her in awkward, uncomfortable, and mostly silly circumstances.

"Alright," Raven announced to her friends, "let's meet here in two hours and we'll head to the mall. I've got to get dressed."

"For what?" Eddie asked.

"To go to the mall," Raven answered in a squeaky voice. She did a quick spin to show off her clothes as if she were a model. "You don't expect me to go shopping looking like _this_ , do you?"

"Geez Eddie," Chelsea sighed, playfully punching him in the arm. "For a guy, you don't know anything about girls. How do you expect to make it through high school?"

Raven waved goodbye to Chelsea and Eddie as she shuffled through the endless array of clothes that hung in her closet. Being an aspiring fashion designer, the fourteen-year-old had garnered quite a vast collection of clothes, most of them made by her. As she came across each piece of clothing, she let out a loud squeal of delight, remembering whatever boy she had seen while wearing that particular outfit.

"What to wear to the mall," she pondered aloud, pulling out shirt after shirt, blouse after blouse, skirt after skirt.

It was not very long before her room was covered in clothes, so much so that the floor could no longer be seen at all. She sighed as she walked out of the closet, unable to find anything worthy of wearing to the mall. She yelled as she tripped on a shirt on the floor. Splaying her arms out, she spun on her heels and fell on her back onto a pile of jeans. A lime colored tank top flew into the air and fell on her chest. She held it to her chest as she slowly stood up. Looking in the mirror, she squealed again, somehow having found her ideal outfit for the mall.

As she picked out a pair of matching jeans, her expression went blank as a vision overrode her mind. Her eyes opened wide and the images zoomed through her field of vision. _She walks into the mall with Chelsea and Eddie wearing her lime green tank top and blue jeans with lime green highlights. As she proceeds into a clothing store, she drops her cell phone. Before she can pick it up, a stranger beats her to it. Their eyes meet, and Raven smiles widely upon seeing a very cute boy, who is smiling back…_ A bright flash interrupted her vision and she felt dizzy for a split second before her vision continued. Now it was completely different. _…An intimidating man is staring directly at her with eerily dark green eyes. He is mumbling something that she cannot understand. He pulls out a silver dagger from his pocket and suddenly lunges at her, the sharp tip of the dagger penetrating her blouse…_ She screamed as she jerked back to reality. Her hand instinctively grabbed at the spot the dagger had just pierced in her mind. There was no sign of any injury, but she could almost feel the sharp pain for a split second. She looked frantically around her bedroom, searching for any sign of the mysterious man she saw in her vision. She calmed down for a minute, but realized that her visions almost always came to be…one way or another. She retreated to her bed, unsure of what had just happened, but definitely afraid that someone was out to get her.


	7. That's So Busted

"She must have really put something on you," Wesley said to James as they zoomed down the highway once again. "You never left that one spot the entire time I was getting clothes?"

"I did," James countered. "We went to get a snack. Besides, you're a big boy. You don't need me to hold your hand every step of the way."

"Don't patronize me," Wesley said. "I never said I needed you to hold my hand. Who is she anyway? Wasn't she a little… _old_ …for you? Unless you're into cougars now…"

"She's…" James began, taking a hand off the wheel to scratch his head. "I don't know; I didn't ask. But her name is Sam. She works for Georgia Power…and she thinks I'm cute."

"So she just stroked your ego," Wesley corrected him. "Any girl who takes the slightest interest in you only needs to comment on your so-called good looks and it's checkmate. They've got you right where they want you."

"What are you trying to say?" James asked.

"Nothing that you don't already know," Wesley replied. "You, my brother, are vain."

"Vain?" James asked, jerking the truck over into the right lane so that he would not miss the exit. "I am not!"

"Oh Jimmy," Wesley sighed, holding on to his seatbelt tightly. "You just can't see it. I'm just glad you saw the exit before we hit the guardrail."

"Whatever," James said. "The important thing is that we'll be back home in enough time to finish getting ready for tonight. You excited to see your family?"

"Of course," Wesley said. "I've gotta warn you, though. They're a little…intense."

"This will be interesting to say the least," James said, turning a corner as the traffic light moved from yellow to red.

"You know we don't have to rush," Wesley changed the subject. "We're almost home and there's still time until people get there. Can you please slow down before I have a heart attack?"

"Shut up," James said defiantly.

For the remainder of the drive home, James and Wesley discussed various things, the most prominent being James' impromptu meeting with some woman he had never met before, and the arrival of all three brothers' families at their home later that evening. It would certainly be an eventful night with so many people gathered in one place. The three brothers were looking forward to finally getting to know another part of each other's pasts. None of them had really shared too much detail about their adoptive families, not because they did not want to, but because it was a topic they just never brought up. With everyone in one place, it would be a time of great happiness for all.

A few minutes later they arrived home. In addition to Matthew's olive-green Acura, two other cars were parked in the driveway, prompting James to park on the street. There was a black Nissan Maxima and a tan Honda Accord, which Wesley knew very well. He looked perplexed at first at seeing Stephanie's car parked in his driveway. After everything that had happened, was she there to see Matthew? If that was the case, was Matthew still making the conscious decision to see her, further betraying Wesley? His mind wandered, exploring the possibilities of why Stephanie would be there now. Perhaps Matthew chose to invite her over, knowing he would have the house to himself.

"Then whose car is that?" James asked, pointing to the black Nissan. "I don't think Matt would be dumb enough to bring Stephanie here, knowing we'd only be gone a short time."

"What if he thought he didn't need that much time?" Wesley argued. "Maybe it's just the thrill of knowing he might get found out."

"That doesn't make sense," James said. Suddenly the tone of his voice changed from assurance to doubt. "He wouldn't…would he?"

"Only one way to find out," Wesley said with rising anger in his voice. He slammed James' door as he quickly made his way to the front door of the house. James followed behind, grabbing Wesley's bags and sighing.

Hurriedly pulling his out his keys, Wesley unlocked the door and thrust it open. His mouth nearly dropped to the floor and his eyes almost popped out of his face. He was so stunned that he lost the ability to say anything for a short while. The only thing he could do was stare in disbelief. James caught up to him a minute later, peeking in over Wesley's head at the living room, which was the first room you could see from the front door. Like Wesley, he had been rendered speechless; he dropped all of Wesley's bags from the shock of what he saw.

They could see one of Matthew's hands protruding from behind the large couch, but quickly withdrawn as two women kneeled above him. Their backs were turned to Wesley and James, so it was unclear who they were. Of course, Wesley knew one of them had to be Stephanie, but the second woman was unknown. Without saying a word, Wesley turned back and looked at James with an expression that clearly conveyed his feelings about what he saw. It was a look of anger, disappointment, and the need to step in and stop this spectacle. James vigorously shook his head in response, not quite sure that what he saw was the same thing that Wesley saw.

Wesley finally regained the ability to move and stormed into the living room, angrily flicking his hands and freezing both women mid-movement. James hurried behind him, also curious to see what was happening. As the two of them entered the room, Matthew slowly emerged from behind the couch with a look of relief on his face. His brown shirt was torn in various places, and a few scratch marks decorated his face. His usually kept hair was ruffled and disastrous, and he was panting heavily. His eyes met James' and Wesley's with an expression that combined relief and gratitude.

"Matt!" Wesley shouted, still in his own mindset of what was going on. "I can't _believe_ what I'm seeing! This is…wait! What _am_ I seeing? Why do you look so beaten up?"

"From the looks of things," James said, "I'd say that he tried to have a meeting with the two girls he was seeing and it didn't go too well."

"You think?" Matthew breathed, rubbing his head. "I've been trying to get them off for a half hour. I tried to explain things as calmly as I could, but it just hasn't been going like I had hoped."

"Good," Wesley stated, folding his arms.

"Wes!" James interjected, shoving his youngest brother. "Hasn't he been through enough? You want to kick him while he's down?"

"I'm not going to pretend that I'm not upset he's getting beat up," Wesley said. "He's getting what he deserves. How else am I supposed to react?"

"We get it," James sighed. "Now unfreeze them so we can put an end to this. Matt, get back down there."

"But Stephanie's fist is about to hit my face," Matthew pleaded, glancing back at a frozen Stephanie, whose hand was curled into a fist and, as Matthew had stated, in a position that would be inches from his face.

"Too bad," Wesley grinned. "You know the rules; get back into place."

Matthew stared at Wesley with disdain, while Wesley only returned the look with one of his own. He winked and stuck his tongue out at Matthew as he waited for him to lie back down. Not waiting for Matthew to fully prepare himself, Wesley reached a hand out and deactivated his power, allowing time to resume. He and James cringed as they heard a fist connect with Matthew's jaw with a sickening crunch. Wesley wanted to laugh, but another rough shove from James stopped him.

"Hey!" James cried out, catching the attention of everyone in the room. "What's going on here?"

Stephanie and Ariana both stopped at the sound of James' voice. They jumped to their feet at looked at James and Wesley. Stephanie and Wesley eyed each other for a moment; neither of them knew what exactly to say to the other. Sensing the mood in the room, James decided to speak up and break the awkward silence.

"I think we all need to sit down and figure this out like adults," he reasoned.


	8. That's So Loyal

Raven lay on her bed, shaking to the point where she was no longer in control of herself. After having her horrifying and confusing vision, she had forgotten all about picking an outfit for the mall. In fact, she had forgotten most everything, including the fact that two hours had already passed. An abrupt knock on her door jolted her back to reality. It startled her to the point that she fell off her bed, curled up like a helpless baby on the floor. She slid under her bed, not wanting to be bothered by anyone just yet. Her younger brother, Cory, opened the door and walked inside, not waiting for his sister to call him in, per his usual custom.

"Rae?" he asked, looking for her. "You in here?"

"Leave me alone," Raven yelped from under her bed.

"I heard you were going to the mall," Cory said. "I just wanted you to stop by Mister Pretzel for me. You know their cinnamon sugar pretzels are the bomb!"

"I-I'm not going," Raven said, her voice shaking. "I just need to be alone right now."

"Yo," Cory said, slowly walking toward the source of his sister's voice. "You okay? You sound like you've just seen a ghost. Where are you, anyway?"

"It's…" Raven said, almost shooting from under the bed as Cory kneeled down and found her, "it's nothing. I just have a headache. You wouldn't understand. Uh…girl issues."

"Eww," Cory said, jumping up. "Well, if you happen to go anyway, don't forget my pretzels. Thanks!"

He jolted out of the room. Being in Raven's bedroom for extended periods of time made him feel uneasy. There were too many colors, too many clothes, too many shoes, too much of everything everywhere. While he enjoyed the occasional spy mission to discreetly learn some of his sister's most embarrassing secrets, he often found that he could get just as much pleasure getting on her nerves in lots of other places. As he opened the door to leave, he nearly crashed into Eddie and Chelsea, who were entering as he exited. He ignored them and continued to his own business, while they jumped on Raven's bed.

"Rae," Chelsea called out, "Rae, where are you?"

"She's probably in that jungle of a closet, still looking for something to wear," Eddie said.

"I'm down here," Raven whispered loudly, peeking up from the side of the bed.

"Rae," Chelsea said, "what are you doing down there? And more importantly, why are you still in those same clothes?"

"Yeah," Eddie added, "I thought you were gonna change before we left for the mall."

"Guys," Raven said softly as she slowly climbed up and sat on the bed next to Chelsea. "You are _never_ gonna believe this! And you have to promise not to tell _anybody_."

"The only other people I'd tell are in this room," Eddie said, shrugging his shoulders. "What's so important that it's keeping you from going to the mall?"

"Okay," Raven began, taking in a deep breath. "Here it goes. But remember, not a _soul_ needs to know what I'm about to tell you. Not Cory, not my parents, _nobody_."

"We got it," Eddie insisted, putting a comforting hand on Raven's shoulder. "Tell us so we can help you."

"Well," Raven began uneasily, "I had a vision of a cute guy giving me back my phone, but then it…changed…into a guy trying to…to kill me."

"Are you sure, Rae?" Eddie asked. "I mean, that sounds a little…weird…to me."

"It could've been some kind of Halloween prank," Chelsea suggested, "or maybe an April Fool's Day joke."

"In May?" Eddie asked, raising an eyebrow at Chelsea's suggestions, smiling. He turned back to Raven. "Relax, Rae. Whatever it was, it couldn't have been real. You've never had a vision like this before."

"I know it sounds like some joke," Raven defended, "but…but it just…it _felt_ real. I can't explain it. But it was _real_."

"Okay, calm down sweetie," Chelsea said, wrapping her arms around a trembling Raven. Even thinking about the mysterious man with the silver dagger made her shiver in fear. She had become so afraid of everything that she could not bear to leave her room, thinking that this vision of hers would somehow come true. And as unreal as it seemed, the fact that she had had such a vision only confirmed her suspicions that it was all very real. The way that she felt during and after the vision made her extremely uncomfortable and unsure of herself. Although skeptical at first, her friends were able to pick up on her true feelings and be there for her. This was why they were the only two people outside her family that she knew that she could trust.

"If what you're saying is true," Eddie said, "then we're right here by your side. Rae, we're in this together."

"Just like we always are," Chelsea added.

"Thanks so much guys," Raven said between sobs. "Y'all don't know how much that means to me, hearing you say that."

"What we need to figure out now," Eddie said, scratching his head, "is our next step. Where do we go from here? You better tell us everything you remember from your vision. There might be some kind of clue or hint about what we can do to help."

Raven took a minute to force herself to stop crying. She inhaled deeply and counted to ten in her mind to calm down. Though it was emotionally painful to recount the horrific events in her vision, Raven decided to fight through it for the sake of her friends.

"Okay," she said shakily and slowly. "I was picking out an outfit to wear to the mall. I had just found the cutest lime green tank top to go with this kickin' pair of blue jeans, hip huggers. I was…"

"Wait," Chelsea interrupted, "you mean that tank top that I got for you last Christmas? That looks _so_ good on you, Rae. I knew you'd like it."

"Girl, I know!" Raven said, her attitude quickly perking up as Chelsea inflated her ego, which seemed to take precedence over anything in her own mind. "And you know it was the craziest thing because I wasn't even looking for it! It just kinda fell onto the bed, you know, because I was trying to figure out what I wanted to put together…"

"Isn't that weird?" Chelsea cut in. "That happens to me sometimes. I'll look for something to wear, and the right outfit will just…come to me!"

"GIRLS!" Eddie interjected with frustration. "We have a situation here! Let's focus up in here!"

"Oh, right," Raven said. Her tone returned to its stoic state. "Well, I was laying on the bed, right after I found what I was gonna wear to the mall. Then I got a vision. Everything started out normal, though. You know, I was walking in the mall and I dropped my cell phone, and I bent down to pick it up but this guy beat me to it. That's when our eyes met. He was really cute, and had the most adorable smile. He was just about to say something, but…"

Her voice trailed off into an inaudible murmur. Her throat seemed to constrict as her mind vividly reconstructed the horrific images in her head that had been permanently etched by the vision. Eddie and Chelsea approached and embraced her comfortingly. Although they didn't truly understand the burden of being able to see the future, they remained empathetic to their friend. It was their strong friendship that sometimes made them feel as if they could somehow feel what Raven felt in times of distress.

"It's okay, Rae," Chelsea said softly. "Go ahead."

"We're right here," Eddie reassured her.

"Before the guy said anything," Raven began, taking a deep breath, "something weird happened. There was this…like… _flash_ , and that's when everything changed. Suddenly there's this guy. I don't know who he was, but he had scary looking eyes. He had this weird looking silver knife or dagger or something. Then he reached out at me like he was trying to…to _stab_ me and…I could almost _feel_ it. Guys, whatever happened, whatever I saw in my vision, I'm telling you it was real. Now I'm scared for my life."

"Wow," Chelsea said. She and Eddie had heard the story once before, but they felt that by hearing it a second time, things might make more sense to them. Unfortunately, it did not, and they remained at square one. "I…I just don't know any way to describe this. This has never happened before."

"You think?" Eddie asked, turning to Raven and taking on a more serious voice. "Rae, we don't know what this means, but from what you're saying, it sounds like since this happened in the mall, so all we need to do is keep you _out_ of the mall."

"He's right," Chelsea agreed. "If you never go to the mall, then whoever this guy is can't attack you."

"That…that makes sense," Raven said, slowly relaxing.

"Sure," Eddie continued. "All you need to do is stay here and everything will be fine."

"And we'll stay here with you," Chelsea offered.

"We will?" Eddie asked apprehensively. "What if he comes here?"

"You're not helping!" Chelsea admonished him. "He's just kidding, Rae. At a time like this, there's no way we'd let you go through something like this by yourself."

"You guys are the best friends ever," Raven said, pulling Chelsea and Eddie into a hug. She began to cry softly on their shoulders, happy that she had been able to find such great friends.


	9. That's So Not How It Should've Gone

Wesley sat on the couch alongside Ariana, while James sat with Stephanie on the loveseat. Matthew isolated himself by sitting on the recliner, which he moved so that it was considerably further away from everyone else. James had managed to calm the women down and pry them off of Matthew, who looked down for the count. Both Ariana and Stephanie continued to breathe a little heavier than usual; they had not only gotten into it with Matthew, but with each other as well. With so many shots having been fired, it seemed inevitable that they would end up taking exception to each other's presence at one point. The living room had become a boxing ring, with a three-way boxing match taking place.

"Now," James announced, sitting at the edge of the loveseat, ready to intercept any physical altercation from anyone in the room, "I think that we should either work this out like adults, or save this for another day. What's it gonna be?"

"Well that's what I was hoping we would be able to do," Matthew said innocently. "I figured that since I caused this whole mess, it was up to me to fix it. I wanted to put everything out in the open and address it all so that there were no more secrets. Apparently, it didn't go the way I planned."

"It didn't?" Wesley asked with a just enough of a hint of sarcasm in his voice to get his feelings across, while opening his eyes wide with mock surprise. His remark elicited a stern gaze from every person in the room, prompting him to keep from saying anything else.

"The point," James continued, "is that all the fighting isn't getting anybody anywhere. So…Stephanie and Ariana, what did you hope to get out of coming here?"

"Closure," Ariana answered simply. "I had no idea why he invited me over here at first. I thought he wanted to spend some time together or something, but when I saw _her_ at the door, I didn't know what to think. After he explained himself, I couldn't believe that I'd been played like that."

"Stephanie?" James gave the floor to Stephanie.

"I think she and I were thinking the same thing," she stated. "I also didn't think anything about him inviting me over that would lead to any of _this_. Now that's it's all out in the open, I just felt…anger…and needed to let it out. I mean, even explaining any of this now is…well, it's awkward."

"Tell me about it," Matthew and Wesley said in unison. They suddenly looked at each other with an uneasy gaze, then just as quickly turned their heads in opposite directions.

"Okay," James quickly said, bringing the attention and focus back on himself. "Moving on…do either of y'all feel like you've gotten your frustrations out?"

"If not, feel free to keep beating Matt's ass until you do," Wesley muttered to no one in particular, but loud enough for them to hear him.

"You're not helping," James scolded Wesley before turning back to the others. "So, here's the deal. I think we've had enough action for one night, so Ariana, it was nice to meet you. Stephanie, good to see you again. Y'all be careful going home and leave Matt to us for the rest of the evening. He's been through enough for one night. Ariana, you leave first. That way you can be on your way without getting into it with Stephanie again. Stephanie, you wait here a few minutes, then you can leave."

"Wow," Wesley said, shaking his head in surprise. "Jimmy that actually makes sense…and you've clearly thought about everything. Good job, buddy!"

"Fine," Ariana said, standing up rather slowly as she eyed Matthew up and down one last time, then did the same to Stephanie. "I'm leaving. Matt, don't ever call me again. It's over between us."

She was about to make a path that involved passing by Matthew on her way out, but James quickly intercepted her and gently redirected her to the front door via a shorter and more efficient route. She said nothing else, and pulled the door shut with an overbearing slamming sound. James remained at the door a few moments until he heard her car door open, close, and the engine turn over. As the sound of a car zooming off faded away, James returned to the living room. Wesley, Matthew, and Stephanie sat in their respective places, not bothering to say anything to each other.

"Okay," James said, breaking the uncomfortable silence, "Ariana's gone. Stephanie, are you ready? I think the three of us need to have a little conversation."

"Um, yeah," Stephanie answered hesitantly, standing up. She grabbed her purse and slung it over her arm. "I'm gonna go. Matt...you're an asshole. Wesley…uh, sorry you had to find out like this."

"Bye Felicia," Wesley muttered dismissively, blindly waving his hand in Stephanie's general direction.

"Stephanie," James corrected absentmindedly. Wesley shook his head, rolled his eyes, and sighed loudly in disappointment in his brother. "What?"

James did not bother to wait for a response from Wesley and motioned instead for Stephanie to follow him. He escorted her to the front door, just as he did with Ariana. He held on tightly to the doorknob, though, preventing Stephanie from slamming the door a second time. He watched as she made her way to her car and started it, slowly backing out of the driveway and speeding off out of his view. Carefully closing the door behind him, he walked back to the living room and sat on the loveseat to face both his brothers, who still did not say anything to each other.

"You…tried…it," Wesley said, staring at Matthew. "Even Jimmy wouldn't be this stupid. What the hell made you think this had even the slightest chance to work out well?"

"It was a gesture of good faith," Matthew answered. "Look, I'm just trying to show you that I'm honestly sorry and working hard to mend our relationship."

"So, this would make the second time you've gotten your ass kicked," Wesley said, holding up two fingers. "And this time, you got beat up by _two_ girls. So technically, this might make three times…"

"Well if you count yourself," Matthew countered, "I'd say it was three _girls_ …"

"Don't rub it in," James stood between Matthew and Wesley, who was visibly annoyed by Matthew's snide comment. "Now's not really the time for this. Let's just get the living room straightened up so that it'll be presentable for our families."

Matthew and Wesley both sighed audibly as they stood up to restore the living room back to the way it was before Matthew's altercation. For the most part, everything was where it should have been; there were a few pictures that had gotten knocked off the end tables, and pillows and cushions that ended up strewn across the floor. It only took a little less than half an hour to tidy things up and make sure the house was back in order. The entire cleaning period seemed so uncomfortable for the three brothers; they hardly spoke to each other while they worked. When they finally finished, each of them went their separate ways; James went into the kitchen to fix himself a snack, Wesley scurried to his bedroom upstairs with his shopping bags, and Matthew plopped onto the couch, worn out from the day's activities.


	10. That's So Unfortunate

p class="MsoNormal"Daniel was once a witch, living a normal life in style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanMagic had been a somewhat sporadic part of his family; he had been the first person in his family to receive a magical gift in three style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanWhile many of his relatives continued to practice Wicca, only a handful of them possessed any real magical style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanFor the most part, those few witches could at the most cast simple low-level spells or perhaps enchant a few style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanDaniel had inherited the gift of psychometry: the ability to touch an object and obtain information about its history, and even some information about its past style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHe had largely used his gift to secure a job working for an auction style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHis ability had granted him quite a bit of success, enough to have moved him to an upper-level corporate position in a relatively short amount of time./p  
p class="MsoNormal"He enjoyed his position at the auction company; he was financially well off, he had plenty of friends (none of them magical; he preferred to keep that part of him a well-guarded secret), and no regrets that he could style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanIn fact, it was at his workplace that he met a woman called Teresa O' style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanShe was an olive-skinned woman of average height, with flowing dark hair and matching set of large chocolate brown eyes that gave her an air of style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanShe had originally joined the company as the assistant to one of Daniel's coworkers, but over time he found himself speaking to her even more than the person for whom she style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanTheir time together sparked a relationship that led Daniel to feel like he was finally getting the one thing he had always wanted: a lifelong style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHe felt that she was "the one," and thankfully she felt the same./p  
p class="MsoNormal"His dream life, however, quickly turned into a nightmare in the blink of an style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanThey were walking through a park late one night after having seen a style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHolding hands, they barely said anything to each other as they walked; they just enjoyed each other's style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanAs they casually strolled across the grass, they momentarily stopped as two of the streetlights flickered and went out, suddenly plunging the immediate area into an eerie darkness that was only illuminated by a crescent style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanTeresa instinctively clung to Daniel, burying her head into his style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHe only chuckled as he reassuringly held her tightly./p  
p class="MsoNormal""Sweetheart," he comforted her, "it's only some lights going style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanThere's nothing to…"/p  
p class="MsoNormal"A flash of light in his peripheral vision caught his attention and interrupted whatever he was going to say to style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHe grabbed his girlfriend and crouched low to the ground as a bluish-orangish ball of light narrowly missed his style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanThe mysterious crackling projectile crashed into a nearby bench, obliterating style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanThe noise pierced the air, and Daniel shielded Teresa from debris that flew back in their style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanKeeping her close to him, Daniel slowly looked up to see two hooded figures on either side of him and style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanThey seemed to be engaged in some sort of supernatural style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHe had only heard stories of these things; he had never had experience fighting any evil beings due to the passive nature of his style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanThe only thing he ever used his magic for was to further his career./p  
p class="MsoNormal""You missed," one of the mysterious men hissed as he prepared to launch an attack of his own./p  
p class="MsoNormal"He followed his taunt by reaching a hand out towards his style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanA long streak of red lightning shot forth, headed in the opposite direction of the energy ball from style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanDaniel once again ducked down, avoiding the magical attack./p  
p class="MsoNormal""Daniel," Teresa said, her voice muffled from her face being buried in Daniel's chest, "what the hell is happening here?span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanI'm scared!"/p  
p class="MsoNormal""I don't know," Daniel said with a slight tone of style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"Just stay low; I'll keep you safe."/p  
p class="MsoNormal"Those were the last words Daniel said to Teresa as another lightning attack and energy ball collided above their heads, causing a shockwave that forced the two of them style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanDaniel fell on his back, while Teresa was launched a few feet away, falling on her side and rolling a couple of style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanDisoriented for a brief moment, Daniel frantically looked around for style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanBefore he saw her, his eyes locked with a pair of glowing red ones, paralyzing him in fear./p  
p class="MsoNormal""Looks like we inadvertently trapped two humans in the middle of our battle," the red-eyed being said out loud./p  
p class="MsoNormal""They're not my concern," the other being said from across the way, creating another multicolored ball of energy with his style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"My only wish right now is to kill em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"you/em."/p  
p class="MsoNormal"With that, he unleashed the glowing orb and it sailed through the air with a whooshing style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanWith Daniel still facing the red-eyed being, his back was to the projectile and he had practically no time to avoid style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanThe sound of the ball flying through the air was suddenly overpowered by a familiar voice screaming "NO!".span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanTurning around quickly, he had just enough time to see Teresa diving in front of him and absorbing the attack style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanThe force of the blast propelled her into Daniel, who fell over trying to catch style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanThe smell of burnt clothes and flesh filled the air as Daniel's hands became stained red from blood./p  
p class="MsoNormal"Daniel was speechless as Teresa's instantly lifeless body dangled in his style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHe slowly placed her back onto the ground as he fell on top of her, stricken with style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanThe life Daniel had worked so hard to build was no longer worth living without the one he had considered his soulmate; everything began to go downhill from there./p  
p class="MsoNormal"Fueled by a combination of grief and rage, he ended up taking a leave of absence from work and effectively isolated himself from the rest of the style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHe stopped communicating with his friends, family, coworkers, anyone who meant anything to style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanNo one knew exactly what he did with his privacy, and quite frankly, he did not want them to style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHe had turned to magic, the cause of his loss, to try and help him, but nothing he could think of proved to be of any style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanWith no reliable source of assistance, he slowly drove himself crazy as he started to misuse his ability to use magic through desperate potions and reckless style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanThe constant abuse of his gift led him down the road to becoming a warlock, the only option he felt that could restore what he had lost./p  
p class="MsoNormal"He had been planning extremely carefully and style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanAfter years of executing this plan, he was finally starting to see all the individual pieces come style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHe had invested years and sacrificed nearly everything, so it excited him to know he had become so close to the style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHis calculations had worked well for him so far; each step toward his goal gave him even more of a sense of style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHis plan had thus far taken him back and forth across the world, tracking specific magical beings to kill them and acquire certain "abilities" for the purposes of his own selfish style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHe had done endless research to target five witches who possessed what he needed to proceed to the final stages of his scheme./p  
p class="MsoNormal""Daniel," Robin pleaded with tears in her style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanShe shuddered from the razor-sharp blade of Daniel's dagger slowly sliding across her style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanShe could almost feel it piercing through her style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"Please don't do style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanI have a family…friends…"/p  
p class="MsoNormal""Not my problem," Daniel cut her off in a stoic style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHe walked over to a table and picked up an old t-shirt that looked like it had been washed dozens of style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHe returned to Robin and abruptly shoved it in her mouth, gagging style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanThis made her struggle even more as she tried her best to scream through the style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanDaniel responded to this with a chuckle, the first time he had laughed in a style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"You can scream all you want, style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanI hate to be cliché, but no one can hear you scream here."/p  
p class="MsoNormal"Robin thrashed about in the chair as hard as she could, but the restraints Daniel had in place were style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHe had her securely bound; she was not going style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanDaniel slowly put his finger over the t-shirt in Robin's mouth, signaling her to be style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHer muffled cries were starting to annoy style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanShe ignored him and somehow started shaking and yelling even style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanAlthough he had told her that she was in a place where she would not be heard, Robin was style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanShe did not want to die, but Daniel had other style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanAnnoyed that she did not stop yelling, he sighed heavily as he leaned in closer to her face, his cold gaze meeting her eyes, almost overpowering to style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanShe immediately became quiet, the terror in her eyes cutting off her ability to make any further style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanWatching Daniel's mouth curl into a sinister grin, she closed her eyes as she prepared for what was about to happen./p  
p class="MsoNormal"Without taking his eyes off her, Daniel thrust the dagger into Robin's abdomen, eliciting a final dampened style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHer eyes suddenly opened wide; the pain was unbearable, and she could feel the life seeping out of her style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanDaniel firmly kept his grip on the dagger as it began to glow a pale style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanAn aura of the same color emanated from her body as Daniel removed the now blood-stained style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanThe aura rolled across her body like waves in an ocean, moving towards the ceremonial blade in Daniel's style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanIn a few moments, the aura concentrated itself into a narrow beam of white energy that engulfed and then disappeared inside the dagger, leaving behind a lifeless style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanDaniel brought the dagger to his face and inhaled deeply, as if he could smell the newly acquired power contained within the style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanWith that, he was one step closer to executing his plan./p 


End file.
